14 August 2007

Nearly one in five holiday makers are getting themselves into debt in order to get away from it all by going on holiday, research from MoneyExpert has revealed.

More 8.3 million people put themselves in the red to fund their summer holidays, says MoneyExpert, of which as many as 63% are putting it on their credit card and another nine per cent take out unsecured personal loans to raise the funds.

Approximately 14% use their overdrafts to pay for the break, and another 12% rely upon friends and family to lend them the money – all further evidence that Britons are borrowing more and more money in order to fund their lifestyles, illustrating the risky game they’re playing with debt, as interest rates are on the rise which will make it difficult to repay.

Sean Gardner, Chief Executive of MoneyExpert.com, said: “Holidays are usually one of the biggest spending times of the year along with Christmas so with family budgets being squeezed millions of us are turning to borrowing. And it can be tempting when you’re overseas to dip into the red a bit to make sure the holiday is as relaxing and enjoyable as possible.

“However holidays should also be a time to recharge your batteries and relax and that should also apply to sorting out your finances. It’s not long after the summer holiday season is finally over that the Christmas adverts start up and we all head for another round of wallet bashing. It can be far too easy to get into a spiral of debt.”

In order to break the debt cycle and reverse the problem, Mr Gardner suggests cutting back on monthly outgoings and devising a budget, switching loans and credit cards to more competitive deals and consolidating debt.